Will Roland (Be More Chill, Dear Evan Hansen), Julia Murney (Wicked, The Wild Party), and Claybourne Elder (Passion) are scheduled to appear in the new BILLBOARD BY THE YEAR series at Feinstein’s/54 Below on Friday, October 5th, at 9:30pm, produced and directed by Robert W. Schneider.
The concert will be hosted by Robbie Rozelle (Songs From Inside My Locker).
Also scheduled to appear in the concert are Joseph Allen (Sweet Charity), Gilbert Baily II (A Bronx Tale), LaDonna Burns (Follies), Philip Casnoff (Chess), Dan DeLuca (Newsies), Will Hutcheson (Ballroom), Aaron Jackson (Comedy Centrals’s The Oppositon with Jordan Klapper), Travis Kent (Disaster), Tyler Lenhart (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Charlotte Maltby (The Sound of Music), Doreen Montalvo (In the Heights, On Your Feet), Jonathan Savage (Golden Rainbow), Dana Schaaf (Thoroughly Modern Millie) Daniel Schwartzberg (West Side Story), Talia Suskauer (Be More Chill), and Ryan Vona (Paramour).
This new series will celebrate the music and musicians who topped the Billboard Charts in a specific year, all sung by an eclectic mix of Broadway and recording artists. The first year in the series will highlight the songs that solidified their place on the Billboard Charts of 1988.
While Bush and Dukakis duked it out for the White House, and Dustin Hoffman was definitely, definitely going to win the Oscar, boom boxes were blasting the sounds of Michael Jackson, Guns N’Roses, George Michael, Whitney Houston, and Poison.
Audiences will jam out to “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Faith,” “Wishing Well,” “Anything For You,” “Never Gonna Give You Up,” and many others that had an entire country dancing in the streets. Plus, there will be a trivia competition, retro commercials, and some radical 80s fashions on display.
Further casting will be announced at a later date.
BILLBOARD BY THE YEAR: 1988 will be directed and produced by Robert W. Schneider. The associate producer will be Benjamin Nissen. The concert will be music directed by Luke Williams.
Schneider said, “I have long wanted to celebrate the contributions of those artists who shaped an era’s music, as well as recognize their impact on today’s artists. I am so excited that we are starting with the Billboard Chart of 1988, a year that celebrated diversity in talent and musicianship, as well as laid the foundations for many of today’s current singers.”
Tickets, starting at $30, are still available. In addition to the ticket price, there is food and beverage minimum of $25.00 BILLBOARD BY THE YEAR: 1988 tickets can be purchased at 54below.com. Tickets on the day of performance after 4:00 are only available by calling (646) 476-3551